PKR-controlled freemalaysiatoday admits that its articles have no scientific basis

Malaysia defamation win for rare-earths miner Lynas

RARE-EARTHS miner Lynas has had a win in one of its defamation cases against groups voicing strong opposition to its Malaysian processing operation.

A free and independent Malaysian media outlet, Free Malaysia Today, yesterday issued an apology for articles it had published, which claimed the Lynas plant could be unsafe.

"We apologise for these publications as such claims do not have a scientific basis. The regulatory review of the Lynas plant has been thorough and diligent," the media company said.

The apology comes after Lynas announced in May that it had begun defamation proceedings in Malaysia against the Save Malaysia Stop Lynas group and some Malaysian media outlets.

Lynas's plans to process ore from its West Australian mine at the $US200 million ($194m) advanced materials plant in Malaysia are strongly opposed by community groups over fears of a repeat of the health problems associated with a Mitsubishi refinery at Bukit Merah that was closed in 1992.

Lynas executive chairman Nicholas Curtis said at the time the defamation case was launched that various groups had crossed the line between fact and defamation. The case against the Save Malaysia Stop Lynas group is to be heard tomorrow.